Premier Dominic Perrottet to ask national cabinet for cruise ban to be reconsidered

A new hurdle has emerged in the jurisdictional stalemate preventing cruise ships returning. But the premier is set to ask the federal expert panel to reconsider the industry’s ban.

A commonwealth government ban on cruise ships entering Australia is set to be reconsidered by the expert body of State and Territory chief health officers.

But a new hurdle has now emerged in the jurisdictional stalemate, with NSW public health orders currently requiring anyone who comes into the state from overseas to go into hotel quarantine for two weeks.

It can be revealed that Premier Dominic Perrottet will tell Thursday’s national cabinet meeting that the Australian Health Practitioners Principal Committee (AHPPC) should reconsider the cruise ship ban.

Federal government sources earlier told The Daily Telegraph that if NSW asked AHPPC to review the cruise ban, the expert panel would reconsider the health risks.

Federal authorities are awaiting changes by State governments to lift cruising bans, but Premier Dominic Perrottet says the commonwealth has responsibility to lift the ban.

However, if the Commonwealth removes a ban on cruise ships coming to Australia, NSW would also need to fix its public health orders to remove the hotel quarantine requirement.

The rules would be a significant hurdle to the cruise industry restarting but could be abolished immediately by Health Minister Brad Hazzard.

The Daily Telegraph understands that the NSW government will address the public health order if and when the Commonwealth allows cruise ships to re-enter the country.

Mr Perrottet has spoken in favour of the industry restarting as soon as possible.

“It doesn’t make any sense that we can have Sydneysiders jump on a plane and go overseas for a cruise but you can’t go on a cruise from Sydney to Queensland,” he said on Monday.

“If the federal government allows cruises back from an international borders perspective, we’ll look at it (from) a state perspective.

“We are supportive of getting businesses open, industries back on track, and returning to normal,” he said.

While Australia remains locked off to the cruise industry, ships have returned sailing across the world. The Caribbean island of Antigua this week welcomed seven cruise ships in a single day.

The Queen Elizabeth berthed at the Overseas Passenger terminal in Sydney. Picture: Getty Images

The industry has adopted a range of heightened safety protocols to reduce Covid risk on-board vessels, including a requirement for all passengers to be fully vaccinated and return negative tests before arrivals.

Ship medical facilities have been bolstered, and cabins are being reserved for isolation purposes.

Mask-wearing and social distancing requirements have also been put in place across cruise ships.

Carnival Australia has also implemented “detailed response plans” to detect, isolate, and manage positive cases.